After home life from hell, Darren McFadden racing to put past behind him

by 7 on March 31, 2008

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. – Blessed with 4.33 speed in the 40-yard dash, crazy fast for a 6-1½ , 215-pound man, Darren McFadden can run away from just about anybody. What he hasn’t developed is the ability to walk away.

Many NFL teams, including the Jets, will analyze that conundrum over the next four weeks as they prepare for the draft. Few will argue that McFadden is the most dynamic player on the board, but there are character concerns. Two years ago, he was involved in a vicious fight outside a nightclub that left his left big toe hideously dislocated, mangled so badly that it revealed the bone.

Sobbing uncontrollably in the ambulance, McFadden called friends and relatives on his cell phone to apologize and vow that he’d never do anything that reckless again. But he did. There was another nightclub altercation in his hometown of Little Rock, where he was handcuffed, but not arrested, for “provoking aggressive behavior,” according to police. [read more]